President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is focusing on portraying former President Donald Trump as a threat to democracy, amid polling indicating Biden’s declining support in swing states.
Biden’s campaign has enlisted the help of three police officers who were on duty at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, as part of its strategy, CNN reports.
Dunn recently lost a primary election for a congressional seat in Maryland. His campaign faltered following resurfaced allegations of domestic abuse and reports of his suspension without pay from the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) in 2012 for mishandling a department-issued firearm.
Dunn left the USCP in 2023.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Biden campaign held a press conference outside the Manhattan courthouse where Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s business records trial against Trump is nearing its end.
The press conference featured actor Robert De Niro — who claimed that if Trump were re-elected, he would “never leave” office and would make himself “dictator for life” — alongside Dunn and Michael Fanone, another officer present at the Capitol on January 6 who has turned his experience into a successful career as a CNN contributor. Dunn published a best-selling memoir in 2023 titled Standing My Ground.
Former Capitol Hill police officers Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn are interviewed during former President Donald Trump’s business records trial near Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28, 2024, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Biden’s approach comes as Democrat Party leaders grow increasingly anxious about Trump’s strength, with Politico reporting that “anxiety has morphed into a palpable trepidation.” As noted:
Nearly all swing state polls show Trump could easily defeat Biden in November. Seven states — Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina — will likely decide the presidency. If Trump wins one or more of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, Biden’s chance of securing 270 electoral votes narrows.
Before Tuesday’s press conference, Biden reportedly remained silent on the trial to avoid lending credibility to Trump’s claims of political persecution. Politico reported on Friday that Biden intended to make a statement upon the verdict from a White House setting and not a campaign one, to avoid appearing “political.”
The campaign’s shift from that strategy may stem from polling indicating that Americans already believe Trump is facing political persecution, as he and his allies have termed “lawfare.”
Biden might feel he has little to lose by changing course, and if he continues trailing in polls, his reluctance to associate himself with Trump’s prosecutions might further damage his standing.
